Essay About A Freedom Fighter-Gandhiji

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a great freedom fighter. He was born in the town of Porbander in Gujarat on 2 October 1869. He had done his schooling in nearby Rajkot. At that time, India was under British.

His father died before Gandhi could finish his schooling. At the young age of thirteen, he was married to Kasturba who was even younger. In 1888, Gandhi set sail for England, where he had decided to pursue a degree in law.

After one year of a none too successful law practice, Gandhi decided to accept an offer from an Indian businessman in South Africa, Dada Abdulla, to join him as a legal adviser. The Indians who had been living in South Africa were without political rights, and were generally known by the derogatory name of ‘coolies’.

Gandhi himself came to an awareness of the frightening force when he thrown out of a first-class railway compartment car, though he held a first-class ticket, at Pietermaritzburg. From this political awakening, Gandhi was to emerge as the leader of the Indian community, and it was in South Africa that he first coined the term satyagmha to signify his theory and practice of non-violent resistance.

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Gandhi described himself as a seeker of satya (truth), which could not be attained other than through ahinsa (non-violence, love) and brahmacharya (celibacy, striving towards God).

Gandhi returned to India in early 1915, and never left the country. Over the next few years, he was to become involved in numerous local struggles, such as at Champaran in Bihar,

where workers on indigo plantations complained of oppressive working conditions, and at Ahmedabad, where a dispute had broken out between management and workers at textile mills.

Gandhi had ideas on every subject, from hygiene and nutrition to education and labor, and he relentlessly pursued his ideas in newspaper. He would still be remembered as one of the principal figures in the history of Indian journalism.

By this time he had earned the title of Mcthatma from Rabindranath Tagore, India’s most well-known writer. When tragedy happened in the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar Gandhi wrote the report of the Punjab Congress Inquiry Committee.

Over the next two years, Gandhi initiated the non- cooperation movement, which called upon Indians to withdraw from British institutions, to return honours conferred by the British, and to learn the art of self-reliance; though the British administration was at places paralysed, the movement was suspended in February 1922.

In early 1930, the Indian National Congress declared that it would now be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence (purna swamj). On March 2, Gandhi addressed a letter to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, informing him that unless Indian demands were met, he would be compelled to break the ‘salt laws’.

On the early morning of March 12, with a small group of followers, Gandhiji led a march towards Dandi on the sea. They arrived there on April 5th: Gandhi picked up a small lump of natural salt, and so gave the signal to hundreds of thousands of people to similarly defy the law, since the British exercised a monopoly on the production and sale of salt. This was the beginning of the civil disobedience movement.

In 1942, Gandhiji issued the last call for independence from British rule. On the grounds of Kranti Maidan, he delivered a speech, asking every Indian to lay down their life, if necessary, in the cause of freedom.

He gave them this mantra, “Do or Die”; at the same time, he asked the British to ‘Quit India’. After a long struggle, India got independence on 15th August 1947.

One evening, Gandhiji was late for his prayers. At 10 minutes past 5 o’clock, with one hand each on the shoulders of Abha and Manu, who were known as his ‘walking sticks’, Gandhiji commenced his walk towards the garden.

Gandhiji folded his hands and greeted his audience with a namaskar; at that moment, a young man came up to him took a revolver out of his pocket, and shot him three times in his chest. Bloodstains appeared over Gandhiji’s white woolen shawl. His hands still folded in a greeting, Gandhiji blessed his assassin, “He Ram! He Ram” and left us.

Mahatma Gandhi

Introduction: Gandhiji was one of thegreatest Indian of all time. He is called the “Father of the Indian Nation”. His original name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was given the title of “Mahatma“, which implies “Great Soul“. People also call him “Bapu” affectionately.

Early life: The birth of Mahatma Gandhi took place on 2nd day of October in 1869 at Porbandar (Gujarat). His father, Karamchand Gandhi, was a noble and pious man. Mr. Karamchand was the chief Dewan of the State of Rajkot.

His mother, Putlibai, was a simple and religious lady. In his early age, Gandhiji was deeply influenced by the religious and pious behaviour of her mother.

Gandhiji received his early education and training from such pious parents. He grew up to be deeply religious, truthful, honest, and fearless from his very boyhood. He was married to Kasturba Gandhi in 1883. The wedding took place according to traditional custom.

As a child, he was a brilliant student. He completed his matriculation examination in 1887. After a brief study, he traveled to England to study barrister-in-law. In 1991, he became a barrister and returned back to home country.

South Africa: At the age of 24, Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa as a lawyer. He had spent twenty-one years at South Africa from 1893 to 1914. As a lawyer, he was mainly employed by Indians staying at South Africa. He found that Indians and other dark skinned people were the oppressed section of the society. He himself faced discrimination on several occasions. He was once disallowed to travel on first-class and thrown out of the train. He was moved by the poor condition of Indians and decided to fight against the injustice. In 1894, he formed the Indian Natal Congress to fight for the civil rights of the Indian community in South Africa.

While at South Africa, he fought for the civil rights and privileges of the Indians living in South Africa. Throughout his struggle, he taught people to fight for their rights through non-violence. Hence, he made his mark as a great political leader in South Africa.

India: He returned to India in 1915. Later, he was the president of Indian National Congress. He protested against the mis-rule of the British Government. He had been associated with several national movements during India’s struggle for independence such as Non-cooperation Movement in 1920, Satyagraha, Quit India Movement in 1942, etc. On several occasions, he was sent to prison. There was wide participation of women in the freedom movements led by Gandhi.

Non-cooperation was his great weapon. The Non-cooperation Movement as a non-violent protest against the use of the British made goods by Indians. It was a movement of the masses of India.

Salt Satyagraha or Dandi March was a protest against the tax regime of British in India. Gandhiji produced salt at Dandi without paying the salt tax. The Civil Disobediance Movement movement got support of millions of common people.

Also read:Causes, Effects and Significance of Civil Disobedience Movement in India

In 1942, Gandhi raised the ‘Quit India’ slogan. Gandhiji asked the British Government to “Quit India”. The Quit India Movement was the most powerful movement launched by Gandhi to end the British rule in India. He gave the famous slogan of “Do or die” for the freedom of mother country.

Principles: He followed the principles of non-violence, truth and peace throughout his life. He guided his fellow citizens to struggle for freedom, not by using weapons, but by following ahimsa (non-violence), peace (Shanti) and truth (Sayta). He proved that Ahimsa (non-violence) is more powerful than the sword. He adopted the principles of satyagraha in the Indian Independence movements.

Gandhian era in Indian History: His remained the most influential leader of India’s freedom movement during the period from 1919 to 1948 and thus the period is called the ‘Gandhian Era’in Indian history.

Importance: He is a well-known world personality. He shook off the British imperialism. The British were compelled to quit India. He secured freedom for our country following the principles of truth and non-violence. He was, thus, a saintly leader. Finally, India won its independence on 15th day of August in 1947.

Gandhi Jayanti: In India, Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated every-year on the day of his birth-anniversary. It is a national holiday. The world celebrates 2nd October as the International day of non-violence.

Death: Unfortunately, the great saint was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30th January, 1948.

Conclusion: Thus, Mahatma Gandhi was both a saint and a practical leader of his compatriots. He was a simple, pure, unselfish and religious person. He did most of his personal jobs of his own. He fought for the freedom of India through non-violent and peaceful methods. He tried hard to raise the distressed sections of the society. He fought against illiteracy. He dreamt of providing mass employment through Charka and Khaddar. He always felt for the poor and untouchables people. He wanted to abolish untouchability from Indian society.

The life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi were so glorious that people around the world still pay homage to him. We will always remember his in our hearts.

Also read: Short Biographical Paragraph on Mahatma Gandhi

Category: Famous and Great Personalities of IndiaTagged With: Mahatma Gandhi